NEXT GENERAL MEETING

 General Meeting  will be held at the Juniors Maroubra on Sunday 5^th July 2020, commencing at 1100 hrs.

 

Social Distancing will be enforced and members will need to remain seated. Lunch will be provided in the form of individual platters of finger food. Buffet service is not permitted.

 

Bar service will be available following the meeting as is the normal practice.

 

Regards

 

Colin

 Colin Flatters  |  President  | 0417 309 145

 

If you would like to see the 2020 ANZAC Day phot's at Maroubra, please click here. 

We have sent some comments on this and some other aspects of RSL administration to State Branch for their consideration. A copy is shown below.

We were disappointed that we were not able to conduct our usual Anzac commemorations in April however your two Vice Presidents, Jim Coady and Frank Brown and myself laid wreaths at the Maroubra Cenotaph and the WW1 Memorial Statue ‘At Ease’ independently during the course of the morning. A number of private citizens also laid wreaths and floral tributes throughout the day which demonstrated that the Sub-Branch and our local community were mindful of the occasion and wished to show their respect and pay tribute to the fallen.

The Juniors also honoured the occasion and recorded a relatively brief Anzac Service conducted in the Wintle Room at the Juniors, Kingsford and posted on their website, facebook page and emailed to many members. The Secretary of Malabar Sub-Branch and I were privileged to be able to participate in the service and represent Maroubra and Malabar Sub-Branches. You can watch by following the link here https://player.vimeo.com/video/410437706     (if you have difficulty, right click on the link and click on Open Hyperlink )

I would also like you to know that we are planning a commemoration service and luncheon for members on Saturday 15^th August to celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the end of WW2 (VP Day). This will follow the format of our Anzac Sunday and Remembrance Day commemorations followed by a luncheon with accompanying entertainment. The Juniors will be providing support with the sound system, a bugler and soloist at the service and arranging suitable entertainment. We will also commemorate Vietnam Veteran’s Day on this occasion as it falls on the following Tuesday, 18^th August. These arrangements are provisional and depend on COVID19 restrictions at the time.

Finally, the Acting President of RSL NSW, Mr Ray James was awarded the OAM in the recent Queens Birthday awards. We send him our congratulations.

Regards 

Colin Flatters  |  President  | 0417 309 145

 

STRATEGIC PLAN COMMENTS 

Following the publication of the Proposed Strategic Plan and the estimated expenditure required to implement the plan, Maroubra Sub-Branch forward the following comments on these matters and some RSL matters in general.

We believe that it is always essential to have a plan to guide our endeavours otherwise we can stray from our purpose and overlook essential elements of what we are trying to achieve.

The current proposed Strategic plan is very comprehensive and covers all aspects of our operations however it also calls for a massive injection of funds from a source yet to be determined at a time that the organisation is almost completely bereft of funds.

We believe that we are in this position because of the overreaction to the fall out following the “Rowe affair”. Including staff movements, legal support for the Bergin Enquiry, the introduction of a new Constitution and numerous cases of high priced legal advice and opinion to support the State Branch position and even to refute a contrary view. (i.e.  Ashurst opinion on Rockdale Group position).

We also note from Board Communique B05/20 (Governance) that legal advice is being sought from what is almost certainly a high priced legal firm, Clayton Utz, as to the extent of Directors’ duties, which is considered important to members considering seeking a Board position later this year Where are these funds coming from and why are all of these requirements not already enshrined in Legislation, the Constitution and/or SOPs or previous legal advice? Do we assume that the Legal Advisor/s retained on RSL NSW staff, if any, are not considered competent to provide legal advice to the Board?

We observe that the proposed budget for the Strategic Plan, in excess of $20M, is for the implementation of the plan over five years. However the current financial position almost certainly dictates that there needs to be a reduction in the scope of the current Strategic Plan and that short term goals be introduced to achieve and maintain our core functions of providing urgent support to Veterans and their families, an efficient Advocacy and Advisory Service for Veterans dealing with The Department of Veteran’s Affairs and the provision of a ‘go to’ point and administrative support to Sub-Branches.

A level of funding needs to be introduced to ensure that these basic aims are achieved and that an effective level of staffing of State Branch is maintained. We believe that this can only be achieved by the reintroduction of an account/fund such as the State President’s Shield which was, as far as we can tell, funds used to support the administration of State Branch. The proposal to pool funds is unlikely to meet the approval of most Sub-Branches as the required level of trust will not be met. Sub-Branches have worked hard to achieve their financial status and, as in our case, most are quite happy to make substantial donations to ‘the cause’ and other Sub-Branches but are loathe to enter into a pool or centralised investment funding arrangement as experience has shown that any funds directed to State Branch are on a ‘one way street’ or as others describe it, go into ‘The Black Hole’.

We would also like to point out that in many cases Sub-Branch funds have been accumulated from the sale of property which has been developed over time not only by our members but by members of our local communities who have supported our facilities in good faith and still support our commemorations and community events.

We are also now aware that the State Congress planned for December may now be deferred or be shortened. We believe that a full Congress should remain on the Agenda so that Delegates are able to engage and interact with the Board and the Executive prior to the Annual General Meeting. The membership is currently disenfranchised and are subject to the directions of a Board who are largely appointed to fill casual vacancies and an Acting President. Whilst Congress may not rectify this position immediately, it will be able to signal the wishes of the members and instruct the Administration to get on with an election ASAP so that the organisation is being administered by their elected representatives.

  

SUB-BRANCH AFFILIATION Vs MEMBERSHIP FEES

In addition to the comments above we would like to submit the following for consideration. This may serve to attract members as it would put us on a similar plane to other ESOs who do not charge membership fees but still produce some basic income to sustain our administration.

Amounts in the following are examples only and may need to be more finely tuned to make them more equitable.

Rather than membership fees for members we suggest that we categorise Sub-Branches by the number of Service Members and charge an annual Affiliation Fee accordingly.

 

              e.g.        1 – 20 members                            $1000.00

                             21 – 50 members                          $2000.00

                             51 – 75 members                          $3000.00

                             76 – 100 members                        $5000.00

                             100 - 150 members                      $7000.00

                             150 – 200 members                      $10 000.00

                             200 +                                             $10 000.00 + $25 per additional member.

 

This is more than current membership fees but would increase income for RSL NSW administration costs.

If applied to all Service Members it would pick up on Life Members and Life Subscribers who no longer pay.

Affluent Sub-Branches may also sponsor one or two; or several, lower category Sub-Branches for the purpose of Affiliation Fees.

Affiliate Members required to pay $25 per annum.

All fees to be paid to RSL NSW via their Sub-Branch.

Sub-Branches to continue to maintain a Register of all members and report all changes to RSL NSW in accordance with current requirements.